Ebay Sellers Cash In on Charlie Hebdo

The first issue of Charlie Hebdo published since last week’s massacre, which features a cartoon of Mohammed holding a “Je Suis Charlie” sign, is already being sold on Ebay for 20 to 200 times its cover price.

The magazine’s normal cover price is just 3 Euros (about $3.50). One Ebay seller has already sold eight copies at a “Buy It Now” price of $99 before deciding to raise his price to $600 for two remaining copies. Other sellers are asking $1,000 for a single copy. For those interested in bidding in an auction (rather than buying at a fixed price), there are currently copies at $560 (5 bids), $200 (24 bids) and $155.50 (7 bids).

Some sellers on Ebay seem to be doing a volume business. This seller has the magazine listed at a “Buy It Now” price of $64.90 which includes shipping. According to Ebay the seller has sold 54 copies in the last 24 hours. The same listing is currently being viewed 49 times an hour.

Those seeking a valuable collectible may be surprised to find the latest issue is not that scarce. While the normal distribution of Charlie Hebdo ranges between a modest 35,000 and 75,000 copies, the new issue will have a circulation of 3,000,000.

The Wall Street Journal reports that distributors have waived fees on the first million copies so that nearly the entire cover price can go to the families of the victims.